ssajami

Interesting that others have said they got more cinnamon and less ginger…I guess all the ginger hid in the leaves that I got. I, however, am not getting much cinnamon, so it’s basically a ginger tea. Now, I like ginger tea, but since it’s called Pumpkin Pie, I sort of expect the cinnamon.

As a ginger tea, it’s quite pleasant.

I smelled the dry leaf and it was positively wonderful- very orange-y. I love orange in tea!

I made the mistake of looking at reviews of this tea, as it was brewing, but before I actually tasted it. Not because I would have liked it otherwise, but because I would not have even bothered brewing it. I have yet to find an herbal with hibiscus in it that I actually like. Something about that tartness just puts me off.

Even so, the purple/red hue of the tea would have quickly given the hibiscus away.

But as it was already brewed, I tried it. I can taste the cranberry and the orange. A nice combination of flavors.
Had it be sans hibiscus, I could really like this.

As it stands, it seems like a really good tea for those with a more amicable relationship to the hibiscus that I have. I will pass this tea on to my hubby, who rarely drinks tea, but when he does, favors the tart hibiscus-y kinds.

I got this tea in a swap with Angrboda , and, to be honest, wasn’t in any hurry to taste it. I have not had good experiences with green tea. I know that many people love them, but most of the ones I’ve had before, both flavored and unflavored, never impressed me. So I figured I was simply not the green tea kind. So this tea sat in my sample basket waiting for that day when I was feeling adventurous enough to try this in spite of my (so I thought) certainty that I would not like it.

I took it to work with me today, to make in my new heavy cast-iron teapot. I steeped with less than boiling water (it’s a water dispenser, so Ive no idea how hot it is, just that it is not boiling), with a short steep time – about 2 minutes.

This is really good! and I mean REALLY good. I assume it smells like rhubarb, although I will admit that I have never smelled rhubarb in my life, but It’s a pleasant sweet aroma. The green base is smooth and mellow with a slight (rhubarb?) sweetness to it. Not overwhelmingly fruity (a good thing), but the flavor is there.

This has actually made me think that maybe I need to give green tea a second chance.

I made this as my morning tea today. One sip and my eyes opened wide in delighted surprise. My first thought? Wow! I was surprised by how utterly awesome it was. I was expecting a breakfast blend flavor, and was greeted by a rich, malty, complex flavor – way, way beyond the usual breakfast blend taste. It makes you sit up and take notice.

On second thought, this shouldn’t have surprised me – I have yet to taste a tea from Verdant that was not in a class of it’s own; the teas included in this blend are each excellent.

Problem is I gulped it down so fast, I am now at a loss now to describe it’s flavor. I will have to make another cup when I get home to savor more slowly.

Wow, this is such a unique tea, like no other black I’ve had before.
The dry leaf smells heavily of chocolate and raisins; so delightful that it took me many minutes to get my nose out of the pouch and proceed with the brewing. The brewed tea has an aroma that I can’t put a name on, but if I close my eyes, I see corn fields and sun. It is very calming.
The flavor is malty, getting sweeter with each subsequent infusion – I’m on my 6th now, and it is still amazing.

I must say that there is a complexity in this tea that has effected me in a way that few teas have done. It’s not a simple tea and one that I feel deserves, even requires, a more in-depth observation. I usually don’t drink the same tea each day, however I have been drinking this one for three days now, and no end yet planned. I am greatly enjoying my sessions with this tea.

I have also noticed that most people have done very long infusions (a few minutes), whereas I have been having this gongfu in my pretty little gaiwan, lots of leaf and very short infusions. I’m wondering if I’m missing out on something by not doing a very long infusion, however I am so enjoying this tea my way that I don’t wish to waste the little leaf I have.

Well done Laoshan ! (and Verdant Teas too, for bringing us this tea).

This tea is simply amazing.

No notes yet.

This tea reminds me of the caramel covered nuts my mother used to make.
The smell is divine; nutty with that characteristic honeybush sweetness.
The taste is the same, sweet and nutty. I usually prefer rooibos over honeybush, as I’m not a big fan of that sweetness, however here it works very well and turns out a really good cup. I’m liking this a lot!

This has got to be one of the best teas EVER. I just get blown away by this every time I drink it. I added a touch of cream and it’s heavenly.

Sweet and gentle. A nice cup.

This is wonderful tea. Smooth and refreshing. I never imagined I’d be drinking cucumber tea,but I am, and I’m liking it very much.

Tip o’ the hat to Mr. Wonka of the tea world (as he’s been so aptly called) for yet another odd, yet delicious blend. :)

So raspberry, so oolong! So amazing together.

I steeped using the same method I normally do for oolongs – more leaf and shorter infusions.
The first two were perfect. The third was a little short on the raspberry, and the fourth had no raspberry at all. However the oolong is so delicious in itself that they were wonderful cups too.

I’m now going to visit their web site to see how much their international shipping is. I have a feeling I’m going to be needing more of this. The second option, of course, is moving to Denmark.

Thank you Angrboda for sharing this divine tea.

Wow, what an aroma! Like freshly squeezed oranges!
Tastes just a bit less orange-y but still good.

I’ve never had tea with cayenne pepper in it, so I was pretty knocked out by the sharpness of this tea. It’s a very odd taste. Or maybe it’s best called a sensation, rather than a taste. I’m sort of ambivalent about it right now. It wasn’t good, yet at the same time it wasn’t bad either. It’s such an odd, exceptional taste that I think I’m going to need another cup of this before I can consider it seriously.

WAY too much hibiscus. Overwhelming.
I can’t even finish the cup.

I got this the from a recent swap with Angrboda. This is a wonderful example of why swaps are so much fun, because I get to sample teas that I would never purchase on my own.

I never purchase fruity teas, because chances are I won’t like them. Maybe because so often the blenders can’t resist putting hibiscus into fruity teas, and I can’t stand hibiscus. Or maybe it’s just the cloying over-sweetness of them.

At any rate, I found this tea surprisingly good (and it doesn’t have hibiscus in it). I usually drink my tea with no sweeteners, so for me the first infusion was a slightly too sweet. The second infusion was perfect. The black (not sure which black) held up very nicely for a the second infusion, which I don’t usually find with black teas, and the strawberry was sweet, but not overly.

I’m thinking this would probably be very good iced too. Maybe I’ll put the rest of the sample in a little pot, iced, for tomorrow.

I have no idea what cucumber in tea taste like, so I’m not sure if what I’m tasting is cucumber-ish. I do know that the white base is delicate and delicious, the strawberry is sweet and aromatic, and there IS something there, toning down the tartness a little. Is that the cucumber?

And the fusion of these flavors makes this tea very yummy!

My past experience with green rooibos hasn’t been so good. I adore red rooibos, but the green…well, the green never tasted nearly as good. In spite of all that, I have been wanting to try this tea fora long while, mostly because it has gotten such good reviews and after all, it IS still rooibos.
I admit I expected not to like this, as I have not liked the other green rooibos teas I’ve tried in the past.

I was not prepared to LOVE this tea. Wow this is good! I have no idea what plantain tastes like, but this tea has a banana flavor that is noticeable but gentle. The coconut is not so prominent, but a hint of flavor mixed with the green rooibos base.

Green rooibos has been redeemed :)

No notes yet.

This smells smokey, but doesn’t taste very smokey. Actually, it’s sweet.
Without a doubt, this is my favorite of the samples I received from China Cha Dao.
I think I’m going to be needing more of this.

This smells intoxicating – walnuts and spices. The taste is the same, but with an added sweetness that makes it more cake-y. DELICIOUS!

I’m on my third infusion of this and it is wonderful. The smokiness is gone and it is gentle and sweet, with that characteristic oolong-y taste.

This is ok. Not wonderful or memorable. Good enough to drink the 2oz I had of it, but I don’t see myself ordering any more of this.

There’s is a citrus/bergamot thing going on in this tea – and that is exactly the problem. I don’t like bergamot. Why am I drinking this tea in the first place? I got it as a free sample with my last order. As I am always open to try new tea, even those I know I usually dislike. Sometimes there are surprises. Not this time.

Others have given it a high rating, so I guess it’s good to those that like bergamot. I will not be giving this a numeric rating.